Brazil unveils Curupira as official COP30 mascot
On Tuesday (Jul. 1), COP30 organizers unveiled the character chosen as the event’s symbol: Curupira, a legendary figure from Brazilian folklore who serves as the guardian of the forests. The boy with fiery hair and backward feet is the visual identity of the conference, which will take place from November 10 to 21 in Belém, Pará—one of the states in the Brazilian Amazon.
The Conference of the Parties (COP30) marks the tenth anniversary of the Paris Agreement, which established national and international targets to limit global warming. According to the organizers, Curupira “reflects the Brazilian presidency’s commitment to solidifying actions to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.”
In a letter to the international community, COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago notes that forests will be a “central topic” of the event’s discussions.
“When we meet in the Brazilian Amazon in November, we must listen carefully to the most advanced science and reassess the extraordinary role already played by forests—and by the people who preserve and depend on them. Forests can buy us time for climate action during a window of opportunity that is rapidly closing,” says the ambassador.
Character
Curupira comes from the Tupi-Guarani language, where curumim means “boy” and pira means “body.” Deeply rooted in Amazonian tradition, the character is associated with the protection of forests and animals, especially against hunters. His backward-facing feet are a clever trick to mislead those who try to track him.
According to the event organizers, the first recorded reference to Curupira in Brazilian history was made by Father José de Anchieta in 1560. The Jesuit missionary came to Brazil to spread Catholicism among indigenous peoples and wrote poetry and plays to support this mission. In one of his texts, he described how indigenous communities greatly feared this folkloric figure and made offerings to avoid being attacked.
